


To Steal Your Heart

by KiPPerTHEDog13



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Action & Romance, Aged-Up Character(s), Akechi and Ryuji are colleagues, Akechi is still a detective, Akira is a barista at Leblanc, Alternate Universe- Vigilantes, Between Akechi and Joker, Breaking and Entering, Crime Fighting, Gunshot Wounds, Joker is a big flirt, M/M, Morgana is human, Mostly all the characters know who the phantom thieves are except Ryuji, No Metaverse (Persona 5), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Persona 5 Spoilers, Rivalry, Ryuji is a police officer, Secret Identities, Shooting Guns, Sojiro knows the phantom thief identities, Some criminals are canon and some are my OC's, Tags May Change, The Phantom Thieves - Freeform, Thievery, Violence, and smooth af, criminal activity, ryuji is clueless
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 22:33:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17816759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiPPerTHEDog13/pseuds/KiPPerTHEDog13
Summary: The Phantom Thieves are a very popular contraband group of young adults who investigate and expose hidden and disguised villains of society through any means necessary. They are wanted criminals with a task force specifically focused on their capture. The task force is led by the esteemed detective Akechi Goro, famous for solving many cases at a young age. Sakamoto Ryuji  is a member of this task force and determined to capture the Phantom Thieves, even if their leader likes to flirt with him at every chance encounter between them.





	To Steal Your Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This first couple of chapters are going to be focused on the origin and creation of the Phantom Thieves Troupe. I'm basically going to be rewriting the original story to show how some of the villains could be taken down without the Metaverse and through some more underhanded means. All of the characters' histories and relationships are going to be altered to fit the AU but for the most part will stay the same. The most significant change is going to be the relationship between Sojiro, Futaba, and Akira.

"Sir, with all due respect, we can't just ignore this-"

"I told you to drop it, Sakamoto-"

"Sir, I don't think a teacher would lie about so many young students experiencing something so horrible-"

Ryuji's superior comes to sudden stop and causes Ryuji to run straight into his back. His superior turns to face him with a stern look in his eyes. "Where's the proof of their claims? Are you going to investigate based on their words alone? There's nothing we can do without evidence so until some comes up, forget about those claims, we have enough work as it is." 

Ryuji stands still as he watches his superior walk out of his sight. He's gritting his teeth and his eyes are sparked with anger. How he could he just walk away from this? Isn't it the job of the police to protect people? His superior might not have been so hung up on evidence if he heard the victims' stories for himself. 

A few days ago Ryuji answered an anonymous call from a high school teacher who reports that one of her colleagues is abusing students and everyone involved is keeping quiet about it. Maybe most people wouldn't take such a vague call seriously but Ryuji can because he recognizes the voice of the caller as his old homeroom teacher at Shujin High Academy and he knows exactly which teacher is abusing students. 

When Ryuji first started high school he was a track star until he got physical with the new PE teacher, Kamoshida. The bastard was the one to provoke him but his retaliation resulted in him having a broken leg, dissolving the track team, and his new reputation as a violent delinquent. For the rest of high school he was shunned by everyone except his old friend, Ann, who hung out with him outside of school. Despite the odds, Ryuji worked hard to graduate high school and to the surprise of many went on to work in law enforcement. 

Now here is, an adult police officer who can't even convince his colleagues to investigate reported abuse. Ryuji sighs and goes back to his desk to work on more boring filing before someone comes and yells at him for doing nothing. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

At the end of the day, Ryuji is tired and makes his way out of the police station. He's not ready to go home yet, so he bikes to his favorite cafe. Ryuji's mother is probably waiting for him at home and he doesn't want to face her right now, while he's still tired and annoyed with work. He's already ashamed enough that he still lives with his mom despite her constant reassurance that she doesn't mind, the least he can do is avoid burdening her with his sour mood. 

Which is why he's heading to Leblanc, a small place that doesn't seem like much but has a nice soothing atmosphere to put its occupants at ease. And they have some damn good coffee.

Ryuji walks in expecting to see the familiar, wrinkled face of the owner behind the counter but instead finds a young man with glasses who looks to be around his age group. 

Ryuji sits down on one of the bar stools and gets a closer look at the new worker who greets him with a smile. 

"Welcome, what can I get for you?"

Ryuji orders his regular and watches the guy while he makes the coffee. Maybe he shouldn't be staring but he can't help it. He's used to coming here and making some conversation with Boss while he drinks his coffee. He remembers Boss mentioning that he's not interested in hiring any part time workers so why's this guy here? Is he some kind of exception? 

If the worker was uncomfortable with with Ryuji's staring he doesn't show it as he places Ryuji's coffee in front of him. Ryuji picks it up to take a sip. Not like Boss’, but still really good.

"Are you Sakamoto Ryuji?"

Ryuji looks up at the mention of his name. With a little hesitation he answers. "Yeah, that's me."

The worker smiles politely. "Boss told me there's a regular who always comes in at this time to relax and have a nice chat. He also said you order your drink so sweet he almost can't consider it coffee."

Ryuji's lips briefly quirk up a bit as he remembers Boss's exasperation with his taste in coffee. "Yeah, that's right. Speaking of, where is Boss right now? He's never hired a part timer before."

The worker moves to sit beside Ryuji at the bar. They're the only two in the cafe right now so he doesn't need to be working. "Boss let me have this job in return for a favor. He went home early when I said I could mind the place for him."

Ryuji sips his coffee again before answering. "Boss must really trust you if he's okay with leaving you in charge of Leblanc. Did you save his house from burning or something?"

The worker laughs a bit. "Nothing like that, but nonetheless I was glad I could help him. I'm not sure how I would have met him otherwise."

Ryuji is dying to know how this guy got in Boss's good graces but decides to put off asking for now. He can probably bug Boss about it next time he sees him. So he settles for asking something else. "So it seems Boss told you a lot about me, what else did he say?"

The worker's smile widens a bit when he asks. "He's really fond of you. Says you're a good man who works hard at the police station and makes great conversation when you're not complaining about work."

Ryuji sighs. "Yeah, Boss sometimes lets me vent to him about my day. Maybe it's selfish of me but I can't help coming in here every day to let loose all my stress, this place is really comforting."

The worker leans his cheek on the palm of his hand. "So what brings you here today?"

Ryuji briefly glances at him. "You don't have to humor me just 'cause Boss does. 'Sides, its not something people would want to listen to anyway."

"Try me." 

Something in the other man's tone causes Ryuji to look up. He meets the worker's intense gaze and stays fixed. With eyes at such rapt attention Ryuji can't help wanting to disclose his troubles to the man. "I got an anonymous report of abuse and none of my co-workers wanted to take it seriously."

The man keeps his eyes on Ryuji. "Abuse?"

Ryuji furrows his brow and frowns. "Yeah, I think its by a teacher from my old high school. Kamoshida, that bastard, I can't believe he's still there."

The worker notes the venom in Ryuji's voice when he mentions the name. "Was he like that when you knew him?"

Ryuji struggles to keep himself from yelling. "Hell yeah, he was rotten to the core since the first day I met him. I regret not doing anything to stop him then so I can't give this up now. I became a police officer to stop shitty guys like him, I'm not letting him get away even if I have to take him down by myself."

Ryuji and the worker sit in silence for a moment until it's broken by another customer walking into Leblanc. The man moves to take the order of the new patron and Ryuji is left alone to his thoughts.

When Ryuji finally finishes his drink he goes to say goodbye to the worker. "Hey, sorry for making you listen to my rambling earlier but it kind of made me feel a little better to speak up, so thanks."

The worker smiles. "Anytime, I look forward to seeing you again."

Ryuji is on his way out when he stops at a realization. "Wait, before I leave can I get your name? I didn't catch it earlier."

Ryuji's eyes may be wrong but he could swear he saw a hint of a mischievous smirk on the worker's face. "The name's Kurusu Akira. Good night, Sakamoto." 

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work for this fandom and also the most ambitious work I have ever tried writing for any fandom. I'm not sure if I'm going to make it as cool as I want it to be but I'm going to damn well try.


End file.
